After Xia Feng hung up Li Lao's call, he casually tossed his phone aside.
No matter the situation, nothing could affect Xia Feng's state of mind.
To someone who had stepped out of the painting, any matter was merely a fleeting concern within the picture, a minor issue to be brushed aside.
However, judging by the tone of Li Lao's voice just now, the matter seemed to involve him, especially since Li Lao had mentioned coming over in the afternoon immediately after their call.
"Teacher Ma," Xia Feng called out to Jack Ma.
"Yes, Young Master Xia, what are your orders?" Jack Ma jogged over and asked.
"In the afternoon, you go out and buy some fresh ingredients. We'll be hosting Li Lao for dinner at home tonight. He wants to try your cooking."
Xia Feng instructed.
Xia Feng had intentionally spoken to Li Lao in that manner on the phone. Now that Li Lao was genuinely coming over, Xia Feng was quite happy to host him.
An elder who had dedicated his life to the country and its people deserved respect.
Regardless of his status, Xia Feng was, first and foremost, a Chinese person, with Chinese blood flowing through his veins. He took pride in China's strength and made its prosperity his priority.
Jack Ma was surprised upon hearing this. His culinary skills had reached Li Lao?
He had built such a large and successful business, yet he hadn't even been personally met by Li Lao. Now, it was his cooking that had specifically earned him an invitation.
Jack Ma momentarily wondered if he had chosen the wrong career path.
It seemed creating the Alibaba Group wasn't his true calling, but merely a pastime. Being a chef was his soul's true desire.
"Alright, we'll go buy the ingredients this afternoon," Jack Ma readily agreed.
With Xia Feng, it wasn't unusual even if Elder Huang were to visit; one simply got used to it.
Jack Ma was quite pleased that his culinary skills were recognized by these super influential figures, as cooking was, after all, his hobby.
Who would have thought a hobby would eventually become a major achievement, a way to cling to power?
"Then you may go and busy yourself," Xia Feng waved his hand.
Jack Ma walked away with an excited expression. Passing by Jiang Quanshui, he wore a beaming smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Seeing that Jiang Quanshui was ignoring him, Jack Ma said, "Accompany me to buy groceries this afternoon."
"Oh," Jiang Quanshui replied faintly.
"Are you unhappy about it? Let me tell you, we have an important guest coming for dinner tonight," Jack Ma said, scolding him as Jiang Quanshui seemed a bit reluctant.
"Who?" Jiang Quanshui asked.
"Li Lao," Jack Ma said with a mysterious smile.
"Really?" Jiang Quanshui stood up to confirm.
"Young Master Xia told me himself. He asked me to buy fresh vegetables this afternoon, and Li Lao said he wanted to try my cooking and is specifically coming from the capital," Jack Ma said, his face radiating an uncontainable proud smile.
Jiang Quanshui only believed half of what he heard.
It was true that Li Lao would be coming, but the part about Li Lao specifically traveling from the capital to Shanghai just to eat Jack Ma's cooking was automatically filtered out by Jiang Quanshui.
"Li Lao is coming to Shanghai just for your cooking?"
"What a boastful fellow. Jiang Quanshui didn't believe a single word.
"He's coming for Young Master Xia. If Young Master Xia weren't here, Li Lao wouldn't be coming."
"Stop bragging. I'll accompany you to buy groceries this afternoon," Jiang Quanshui chided.
"Heh heh..."
Jack Ma chuckled and headed towards the kitchen.
The villa now had a large kitchen, a full eighty square meters, and Jack Ma seemed a bit lonely cooking in it by himself.
This kitchen would be Jack Ma's workspace from now on.
"What did Teacher Ma say to you just now?" Lei Ming walked over and asked curiously.
"It's a small matter. Li Lao is coming for dinner tonight," Jiang Quanshui replied truthfully.
"Which Li Lao? Li Chaoren?"
Lei Ming also knew that Li Chaoren was coming to Shanghai today. Old Wang and Ma from Tencent had already gone to have lunch with him.
"Are you out of your mind? Would I call Li Chaoren 'Li Lao'? Besides, could Li Chaoren even enter a place like this to eat?"
Jiang Quanshui directly cursed Lei Ming, seeing his foolishness.
"This is a place Li Chaoren can come to?"
"Then who?" Lei Ming asked, confused.
"The one above," Jiang Quanshui said, pointing his finger towards the ceiling.
"Ah..."
Lei Ming was stunned and let out a shrill scream like a woman.
"Look at your lack of composure. When you are with Young Master Xia, you must remain calm in the face of adversity. This is nothing. I'll give you a chance to show yourself today. We'll take you to buy groceries this afternoon, and you'll be in charge of carrying them."
Jiang Quanshui rolled his eyes at Lei Ming and said.
"Alright, alright," Lei Ming quickly nodded.
Li Lao.
One of the four great leaders of China, a truly top-tier existence.
Lei Ming, despite running such a large enterprise, had never met Li Lao.
He had met Elder Feng once at a national financial conference. Elder Feng had attended and met all successful entrepreneurs in China.
Being able to meet these prominent figures was undoubtedly a source of pride, even for Lei Ming.
Moreover, having dinner together today was even more significant.
Meanwhile, Xia Lin and the others in the villa were having a blast in the game room.
"Young Master Zhou, I have to say, what's the use of you playing a support healer? You can't even heal. Both times I was caught by the jungler, you were useless."
National Little King, seeing his bottom lane getting completely crushed by the enemy, started to shift the blame onto Zhou Gangyi.
National Little King played the hero Jhin with masterful skill. He had even played this hero in professional matches before, retiring with a 100% win rate, which was his pride.
Now, this crippled Jhin was being forced to turtle under his tower, afraid to even step out, truly becoming a crippled Jhin.
He didn't dare to take minion waves, let alone experience.
Zhou Gangyi's face turned red from the criticism. What a great way to pass the buck; he was just bad.
"If you're so good, why can't you even carry me?"
"Anyone who can't be carried by me is trash."
Xia Lin continued to play her sneaky Teemo. She was matched against a Rengar and was solo-killed once before level six. After level six, Xia Lin planted mushrooms in the bushes, effectively crippling Rengar's mobility. As long as he stepped on a mushroom, she could stand and fight Rengar.
For the first time ever, Xia Lin had managed to dominate her lane against Rengar and even successfully take the first tower.
"You two, stop arguing. I'll carry this game."
Xia Lin said with full confidence and high spirits.
"See? Lin'er is the true master. You're too bad; this tier isn't suitable for you."
National Little King immediately flattered Xia Lin.
After playing for so long, it was the first time he had seen Xia Lin dominate her lane without any gank assistance.
"Heh heh... I'll plant some mushrooms for you later. You play cautiously and farm."
Xia Lin said with an excited smile.
"My god..."
"I was careless..."
"If I had known I'd be this strong today, I should have started streaming to show them my glorious record."
...............
(ps: Nan Nan: I'm done pretending. I wasn't acting before; I was a streamer for this game.)